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Lovanium University (french: Université Lovanium) was a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
university in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
in the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. The university was established in 1954 on the Kimwenza plateau, near
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
. The university continued to function after independence until it was merged into the National University of Zaire in 1971. It can be considered an antecedent of the
University of Kinshasa The University of Kinshasa (french: Université de Kinshasa), commonly known as UNIKIN, is one of the three major universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, together with the University of Kisangani and University of Lubumbashi. Origin ...
.


Early history

Before the foundation of Lovanium, the
Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
already operated multiple institutes for higher education in the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. The ''Fomulac'' (Fondation médicale de l'université de Louvain au Congo), was founded in 1926, with the goal of forming Congolese medical personnel and researchers specialized in tropical medicine. In 1932 the Catholic University of Louvain founded the ''Cadulac'' (Centres agronomiques de l'université de Louvain au Congo) in
Kisantu Kisantu, is a town in the western Democratic Republic of Congo, lying south west of Kinshasa, on the Inkisi River. It is known for its large cathedral and for its botanical gardens, which include an arboretum of indigenous trees. Location Kisan ...
. Cadulac was specialized in agricultural sciences and formed the basis for what was later to become Lovanium.


Lovanium

The university was established in 1954 on the Kimwenza plateau, near Leopoldville (now
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
). Lovanium was founded by the
Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...
in Belgium, and was named after it (''Lovanium'' being
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for Leuven). When it opened, the university received heavy subsidies from the colonial government, it also received funding from the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
, the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
and the
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
and was lauded as the best university in Africa. The official opening of the university was in 1954, the first students were to graduate from Lovanium in 1958. Africa's first nuclear reactor, TRIGA I, was established at Lovanium in 1958, in conjunction with the U.S.
Atoms for Peace "Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953. The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipment ...
program. In August 1971, the university merged with two other universities in the Congo to form the federalised National University of Zaire (Université Nationale du Zaïre, UNAZA). Between 1980 and 1991, the universities were again divided into three institutions, the
University of Kinshasa The University of Kinshasa (french: Université de Kinshasa), commonly known as UNIKIN, is one of the three major universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, together with the University of Kisangani and University of Lubumbashi. Origin ...
, Kisangani University, and the
University of Lubumbashi The University of Lubumbashi (), also known by the acronym UNILU, is one of the largest universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Lubumbashi in Haut Katanga Province, previously Katanga Province. The campus is locate ...
.


Notable alumni

* Valentin Y. Mudimbe *
Clémentine Nzuji ''Clémentine'' (pronounced ) was a 1985 French animated television series (in co-production with Japan). The series consisted of 39 episodes which featured the fantastic adventures of a 10-year-old girl (Clémentine Dumat) who uses a wheelchair ...
*
Étienne Tshisekedi Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba (14 December 1932 – 1 February 2017) was a Congolese politician and the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the main opposing political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC ...
* Simon Mbatshi Batshia *
Pius Ngandu Nkashama Pius Ngandu Nkashama is a professor, writer, playwright, poet and literary critic. He was born in 1946 in Mbujimayi in the province of Kasai Oriental in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After a degree in philosophy and letters at Lovanium Un ...
*
Albert Ndele Albert Ndele Bamu (born 15 August 1930) is a Congolese politician and banker. He served as chairman of the College of Commissioners-General that governed the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) for two weeks while Justin Marie Bomboko returned ...
*
Barthélémy Bisengimana Barthélémy Bisengimana Rwema (born 12 May 1935) was a Zairean official who served as head of the Bureau of the President under Mobutu Sese Seko from May 1969 to February 1977.Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, in ''States, Borders and Citizenship: Negot ...
*
Jacques Depelchin Jacques Depelchin (born 06/03/1942) is a Congolese historian and militant. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ota Benga International Alliance for Peace in the DR Congo. Background A native of the Congo, Depelchin was educated i ...
*
Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum Jean-Jacques Muyembe is a Congolese microbiologist. He is the general director of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Institut National pour la Recherche Biomedicale (''INRB''). He was part of team at the Yambuku Catholic Mission Hospital that ...
*
Nkulu Mitumba Kilombo Norbert Nkulu Mitumba Kilombo (born 15 December 1946) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the first cabinet of Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga, formed on 5 February 2007, he was named Minister of State to the President of t ...
*
Angela Okolo Angela Okolo is a Nigerian professor of pediatrics and child health, neonatologist in the department of Pediatrics, Federal Medical Center, Asaba and President of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM). Early life and education She ...


Notable faculty

*
Marcel Lihau Marcel Antoine Lihau or Ebua Libana la Molengo Lihau (29 September 1931 – 9April 1999) was a Congolese jurist, law professor and politician who served as the inaugural First President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Congo from 1968 u ...
*
Sophie Kanza Sophie Lihau-Kanza or Zala Lusibu N'Kanza (8 February 1940 – 2 April 1999) was a Congolese politician and sociologist. She was the first woman of her country to receive a secondary education, the first to graduate from a university, and the firs ...
*
Daniel Biebuyck Daniel P. Biebuyck (1925 – 31 December 2019) was a Belgian scholar of Central African art. Biography Biebuyck was born in 1925 in Deinze, Belgium. He studied classical philology, law, cultural anthropology, and African art at the State Univer ...


See also

*
List of Jesuit sites This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association. Nearly all these sites have bee ...


References


External links


The New Yorker 1962 article


Education in Kinshasa Former Catholic universities and colleges History of Kinshasa Educational institutions disestablished in 1971 Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1954 establishments in the Belgian Congo 1971 disestablishments in Africa Ž {{DRCongo-university-stub